Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Defenses Against Pathogens and Herbivores02:26

Defenses Against Pathogens and Herbivores

28.1K
Plants present a rich source of nutrients for many organisms, making it a target for herbivores and infectious agents. Plants, though lacking a proper immune system, have developed an array of constitutive and inducible defenses to fend off these attacks.
28.1K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

From early defence priming to lasting memory: developmental and seasonal dynamics in trees.

Essays in biochemistry·2026
Same author

Dissecting the shared genetic landscape of schizophrenia and hippocampal subfields: A genome-wide cross-trait analysis.

Translational psychiatry·2026
Same author

Haploblocks contribute to parallel climate adaptation following global invasion of a cosmopolitan plant.

Nature ecology & evolution·2025
Same author

Connecting the dots: Managing species interaction networks to mitigate the impacts of global change.

eLife·2025
Same author

Resting-state network alterations in depression: a comprehensive meta-analysis of functional connectivity.

Psychological medicine·2025
Same author

Causal relationships between hippocampal volumetric traits and the risk of Alzheimer's disease: a Mendelian randomization study.

Brain communications·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 25, 2025

Detached Leaf Assays to Simplify Gene Expression Studies in Potato During Infestation by Chewing Insect Manduca sexta
05:56

Detached Leaf Assays to Simplify Gene Expression Studies in Potato During Infestation by Chewing Insect Manduca sexta

Published on: May 15, 2019

6.8K

Comparing Exogenous Methods to Induce Plant-Resistance Against a Bark-Feeding Insect.

Yayuan Chen1, Adriana Puentes1, Christer Björkman1

  • 1Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Uppsala, Sweden.

Frontiers in Plant Science
|August 6, 2021
PubMed
Summary

Methyl jasmonate (MeJA) effectively primes conifer defenses against weevils, unlike mechanical damage. While MeJA reduced insect feeding, it also stunted seedling growth, indicating a trade-off in plant defense strategies.

Keywords:
forest regenerationmethyl jasmonateroot damagesimulated herbivorytrue insect herbivorywounding

More Related Videos

Characterizing Herbivore Resistance Mechanisms: Spittlebugs on Brachiaria spp. as an Example
06:52

Characterizing Herbivore Resistance Mechanisms: Spittlebugs on Brachiaria spp. as an Example

Published on: June 19, 2011

14.0K
Establishing Fungal Entomopathogens as Endophytes: Towards Endophytic Biological Control
15:14

Establishing Fungal Entomopathogens as Endophytes: Towards Endophytic Biological Control

Published on: April 11, 2013

35.0K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Oct 25, 2025

Detached Leaf Assays to Simplify Gene Expression Studies in Potato During Infestation by Chewing Insect Manduca sexta
05:56

Detached Leaf Assays to Simplify Gene Expression Studies in Potato During Infestation by Chewing Insect Manduca sexta

Published on: May 15, 2019

6.8K
Characterizing Herbivore Resistance Mechanisms: Spittlebugs on Brachiaria spp. as an Example
06:52

Characterizing Herbivore Resistance Mechanisms: Spittlebugs on Brachiaria spp. as an Example

Published on: June 19, 2011

14.0K
Establishing Fungal Entomopathogens as Endophytes: Towards Endophytic Biological Control
15:14

Establishing Fungal Entomopathogens as Endophytes: Towards Endophytic Biological Control

Published on: April 11, 2013

35.0K

Area of Science:

  • Plant Science
  • Ecology
  • Forestry

Background:

  • Plant hormones like methyl jasmonate (MeJA) induce defenses against herbivores.
  • Mechanical damage can also trigger plant resistance, but its efficacy compared to MeJA is understudied.
  • Understanding induced plant defenses is crucial for sustainable forest management and pest control.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Compare the effectiveness of MeJA versus mechanical damage in inducing resistance to insect herbivory in Scots pine seedlings.
  • Investigate how the timing of induction treatments affects subsequent insect damage.
  • Assess the impact of MeJA and mechanical damage on seedling growth.

Main Methods:

  • Scots pine seedlings were treated with MeJA or subjected to various mechanical damages (bark wounds, needle piercing, root damage).
  • Seedlings were exposed to pine weevils (Hylobius abietis) at early (12 days) and late (32 days) post-treatment intervals.
  • Plant resistance was quantified by measuring insect feeding damage; seedling growth was also assessed.

Main Results:

  • MeJA treatment significantly reduced pine weevil feeding by 84% at early exposure, while needle-piercing damage increased feeding by 250%.
  • Other mechanical damage treatments showed no significant effect on weevil feeding compared to controls.
  • MeJA significantly inhibited seedling growth, whereas mechanical damage had variable or no significant effects on growth.

Conclusions:

  • MeJA is a more effective inducer of resistance against pine weevils than mechanical damage, particularly at early exposure.
  • Mechanical damage is not a reliable method for enhancing seedling resistance to bark-chewing insects.
  • A trade-off exists between induced resistance and growth when using MeJA for plant protection.